Brooklyn-based rockers Russian Baths have shared Slenderman, the first single lifted off of their forthcoming debut EP, ‘Penance,’ out 2/23 via Good Eye Records (pre-order). Slenderman starts with a pulsing drum beat and sugar sweet vocals, but quickly explodes into a beautiful wall of noise and distortion – if the rest of the EP sounds like this, we’ll be all over it. Take a listen to the track via YouTube below.
Intertwining feedback and harmony with equal significance, Russian Baths paint in searing strokes finding beauty in towering, looming, incendiary noise-rock. Comprised of Luke Koz (guitar, vox), Jess Rees (guitar, keys, vox) and joined by Evan Gill Smith (bass) and Jeff Widner (drums), the band has been honing their craft and chemistry since initially storming listeners with their split single, ‘Ambulance / Ghost’.
Incorporating dissonance into traditional song structures, Penance’s aesthetic recalls Big Black’s caustic fits, ’70s space rock, Chapel Hill’s noise pop, Big Muff driven grunge, and the angular arrangements of British post-punk. The breadth of Russian Bath’s scope in sound is marked by the distance and cohesion between singles in the furious, driving Slenderman and the elegant thunderstorm that is Poolhouse.
Penance tracklist
01: Slenderman
02: What’s Your Basement
03: Poolhouse
04: Black Cross
Russian Baths tour dates
2/22: The Saint – Asbury Park, NJ
2/24: Alphaville – Brooklyn, NY
